All too many of the great violin pedagogues of the past, Leopold Auer and Ivan Galamian for example, remain shadowy, even unknown figures as far as the public is concerned. More in our own time, Dorothy DeLay is another such figure, the first woman and the first American to be accorded a place in the front-rank of violin teaching in America. Whilst she is hardly a household name, the list of her pupils makes impressive reading: from Itzhak Perlman to Midori, Sarah Chang to Gil Shaham, a veritable Who's Who of the violin glitterati - to say nothing of the many dozens of players with concert careers, sitting in the front desks of orchestras worldwide.

In the preparation of her book, Barbara Lourie Sand had access over a ten year period to DeLay's studio at the Juilliard School of Music in New York, as well as the Aspen Music Festival and School in Colorado, seeking out the essence of DeLay's teaching and trying to identify the secrets - if there are any - of her obvious success. The material Sand includes here throws light into this hothouse world of the would-be virtuoso: the prodigy children, the often-pushy parents and the impresarios who inhabit it.

Students of the violin searching this book for practice schedules and technical advice on specifics will almost certainly be disappointed. There is little here of what her pupils learn as technicians, or even musicians, rather what they acquire as individuals. 'Most of the time,' DeLay remarks, 'I am just sitting here thinking of things to say and then stopping myself from saying them.'

Whilst this might be great psychology when dealing with the very talented, it almost certainly did not make the author's job any easier.

There are however, enough 'choice' moments along the way to keep a reader satisfied. The chapter 'The Emperor's new clothes' for instance, deals with DeLay and her critics, and turns out to be vital in keeping the whole enterprise from becoming merely eulogistic. Whilst the great lady's admirers do not simply like her (rather they adore her), her detractors, it appears, get equally worked up over her shortcomings: chronic lateness, for example, which keeps students (especially the less talented) waiting outside her room, is known by those on the receiving end as being DeLayed! Likewise, Sand cheekily repeats the tales of DeLay's particular weakness for Chinese takeaways (consumed, it seems, in lessons) and her overabundance of students:

A student with a violin case gets on a plane and passes by DeLay's seat. "Oh sweetie," she says, "You study the violin. How interesting. Who is your teacher? " The student, looking uncomfortable and perplexed, replies, " You, Miss DeLay."

Ultimately, of course, Dorothy DeLay is anything but that lady who merely 'teaches fiddle': here is a remarkable woman with a formidable ability to foster talent, still right at the heart of the international music business where she has been since the late 1940s.

Well written and attractively produced, this book, including generous contributions from Itzhak Perlman, Isaac Stern, Zubin Mehta and many other 'big names' in music, provides a fitting tribute to a lifetime's dedicated work, making sure that this particular brand of teaching genius does not remain unsung.

Nigel Evans